entablature

views updated May 11 2018

entablature. In Classical Orders the entire horizontal mass of material carried on columns and pilasters above the abaci. Normally it consists of three main horizontal divisions, the architrave (essentially the lintel spanning between the columns), the frieze (occasionally elided (omitted), as in certain examples of the Ionic Order, especially Hellenistic versions), and cornice. An entablature on the top of an astylar (without columns or pilasters) façade, as in a Florentine Renaissance palazzo, is called cornicione. Entablatures are also found at the tops of Classical rooms, between ceiling and wall.

A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture JAMES STEVENS CURL

entablature

views updated May 29 2018

en·tab·la·ture / enˈtabləchər; -ˌchoŏr/ • n. Archit. a horizontal, continuous lintel on a classical building supported by columns or a wall, comprising the architrave, frieze, and cornice.

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English

entablature

views updated May 08 2018

entablature An irregular arrangement of columnar jointing that lies above a colonnade in a thick lava flow.

A Dictionary of Earth Sciences AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY

entablature

views updated May 23 2018

entablature (archit.) part of an order above the column XVII. — (partly through F. entablement) It. intavolatura boarding, f. intavolare board up, f. in EN-1 + tavola TABLE.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology T. F. HOAD